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| Santiago train crash: Spain declares three days of national mourning | Santiago train crash: Spain declares three days of national mourning |
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| The Spanish government has decreed three days of official mourning after Wednesday's train crash near Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, which left at least 78 people dead and 130 injured, 20 of them seriously. | The Spanish government has decreed three days of official mourning after Wednesday's train crash near Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, which left at least 78 people dead and 130 injured, 20 of them seriously. |
| Few of the 218 people on board escaped injury, although both drivers were unhurt. As the investigation is ongoing there has been no official statement on the cause of the accident, but one of the drivers reportedly told local government representatives that he was travelling at 190km/h on a curve with an 80km/h speed limit. | Few of the 218 people on board escaped injury, although both drivers were unhurt. As the investigation is ongoing there has been no official statement on the cause of the accident, but one of the drivers reportedly told local government representatives that he was travelling at 190km/h on a curve with an 80km/h speed limit. |
| According to El País, he said over the radio while still trapped in his cab: "I was doing 190. I hope no one's been killed because they'll be on my conscience." | According to El País, he said over the radio while still trapped in his cab: "I was doing 190. I hope no one's been killed because they'll be on my conscience." |
| The driver is in police custody and has been called to make a declaration before the judge investigating the tragedy. He has not been charged. | The driver is in police custody and has been called to make a declaration before the judge investigating the tragedy. He has not been charged. |
| Julio Gómez-Pomar, president of Renfe, Spain's national train operator, said: "It won't take long to determine the cause of the accident but it's up to the judge to assess the case." | Julio Gómez-Pomar, president of Renfe, Spain's national train operator, said: "It won't take long to determine the cause of the accident but it's up to the judge to assess the case." |
| It is not clear whether the excessive speed was a result of human error or a technical fault, but Gómez-Pomar said the train had passed inspection on Wednesday morning and the stretch of line where the accident happened was fitted with a security system. | It is not clear whether the excessive speed was a result of human error or a technical fault, but Gómez-Pomar said the train had passed inspection on Wednesday morning and the stretch of line where the accident happened was fitted with a security system. |
| Spain's prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, a native of Santiago, said on a visit to the scene that two investigations had been launched, "one judicial and the other by the ministry of works to find out exactly why this terrible train accident occurred". | Spain's prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, a native of Santiago, said on a visit to the scene that two investigations had been launched, "one judicial and the other by the ministry of works to find out exactly why this terrible train accident occurred". |
| Alberto Núñez Feijóo, president of the Galician government, declared seven days of mourning in the north-western province. A minute's silence was observed across Spain at noon on Thursday. | Alberto Núñez Feijóo, president of the Galician government, declared seven days of mourning in the north-western province. A minute's silence was observed across Spain at noon on Thursday. |
| Of those injured, 95 are still in hospital, with 32 critical. One Briton was among the injured, the Foreign Office confirmed. The US state department said five Americans were hurt. | |
| Rescue workers who struggled through the night to free trapped passengers said there were no more bodies in the carriages. Some carriages vaulted into the air and landed on top of others, making it impossible to get to those trapped until a crane could lift the carriages away. | |
| The train jumped the tracks on what officials described as a "difficult curve" on the outskirts of Santiago. All 13 carriages were derailed and at least three caught fire. Some were thrown 15 metres from the track and landed on the other side of a retaining wall beside a row of houses. Several carriages were almost completely destroyed in what was Spain's worst rail accident in 40 years and the third worst in Spanish railway history. | The train jumped the tracks on what officials described as a "difficult curve" on the outskirts of Santiago. All 13 carriages were derailed and at least three caught fire. Some were thrown 15 metres from the track and landed on the other side of a retaining wall beside a row of houses. Several carriages were almost completely destroyed in what was Spain's worst rail accident in 40 years and the third worst in Spanish railway history. |
| A woman who gave her name as Mari, who had been hanging out laundry at her house beside the train line, said that at the moment of the crash she saw "an enormous torpedo of dust and noise coming towards me. I thought the train was coming straight at me and I began to run." | A woman who gave her name as Mari, who had been hanging out laundry at her house beside the train line, said that at the moment of the crash she saw "an enormous torpedo of dust and noise coming towards me. I thought the train was coming straight at me and I began to run." |
| A barmaid in the Bar Tere, 30 metres from the line, called the emergency services, describing a Dante-esque scene. "They told me to hold, I don't think they believed me, and all I could say was that there would be many dead." | A barmaid in the Bar Tere, 30 metres from the line, called the emergency services, describing a Dante-esque scene. "They told me to hold, I don't think they believed me, and all I could say was that there would be many dead." |
| One survivor said: "I had my headphones on, listening to music. I didn't hear anything till we crashed. There were people completely destroyed and a lot of blood. It was horrific." | One survivor said: "I had my headphones on, listening to music. I didn't hear anything till we crashed. There were people completely destroyed and a lot of blood. It was horrific." |
| Renfe faced criticism because it failed to issue a press release until three hours after the accident and then only reported it as a derailment without any indication of the seriousness of the accident. | Renfe faced criticism because it failed to issue a press release until three hours after the accident and then only reported it as a derailment without any indication of the seriousness of the accident. |
| The government was embarrassed when the official message of condolence it released was tacked on to another sent to victims of the Gansu earthquake this week. | The government was embarrassed when the official message of condolence it released was tacked on to another sent to victims of the Gansu earthquake this week. |
| Santiago, the culmination of an ancient pilgrim route, cancelled traditional festivities due to be celebrated on Thursday for the annual fiesta de Santiago. | Santiago, the culmination of an ancient pilgrim route, cancelled traditional festivities due to be celebrated on Thursday for the annual fiesta de Santiago. |
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